What every newb should know

Can't delete this typo error message, can I?

 

1. A/C eats energy. Tried it out and so right. Immediately. Got the "60" figures when a/c was off.
2. Accelerate briskly, gonna try that one. I never have done this in all my years of driving so that will be a hard habit to brake
IN mature driving which is offered as a bennie by all insurance companies, a lot of these rules are simply Common Sense. In Hebrew it's called Sekhel Yashar. Wish I knew how to say it in Arabic. Hmm, do they have Prius in the Middle East? Never thought about that before when talking about energy in Common Sense terms.

 

Don't use 'B'. I know the roads you are talking about but it doesn't really matter because your Prius is smart enough to know when to use regenerative braking when it needs to except when the traction battery is fully charged. Using 'B' forces your Prius to use regenerative braking and to throw the energy away. Your Prius traction battery will rarely be fully charged so you actually want that small amount of energy to flow back to the battery. People have found 'B' usefule in a very narrow range of operation -- mainly long downhills like descending a mountain road, where your traction battery is charged, you want to slow down but you don't want to use the actual brake pads.

 

Some of the best advice available - it really makes a difference in when you accelerate and brake. I thought I did this in my old car but my Prius taught me different. The only danger is the cars behind you -- many drivers in the U.S. seem accustomed to hard acceleration and last minute braking. The other drivers benefit from having to follow your lead but I don't think they appreciate it very much.

 

"B" mode does not force regenerative braking. "B" mode only forces the ICE to spin when you want to deccelerate without braking, like letting off on the accelerator and downshifting in a non-hybrid. It will accually expend some of the energy that could, not necessarily would, be used to regen the Battery Pack. Accelerating, maintaining speed, or applying the brake pedal, all work exactly the same whether in "D" or "B" modes. I would use "B" mode much like when I need to downshift to avoid hard braking or riding the brake. I previous post also pointed out that regen braking is not effective at or below ~7mph. I talking about bumper to bumper traffic with all way stop signs. Alot of inching along a car length at a time, up or down ~6% grades. I'm not suggesting drive all over Atlanta in "B" mode any more than driving around in 2nd. I would go back to "D" same as shifting back into drive at end of braking. We'll see, I'll be honest and let you know.

 

Brake fade is not likely to be an issue below 7 mph (or even 20 mph). IMO that is the reason you would need to invoke B mode; higher speeds and long descents where you could experience brake fade when overusing the friction brakes.

 

I wasn't thinking about brake fade in town. It sounded like braking may be mostly by the brakes under ~7mph and very little, if any, regen. As I pointed out, if this is true, then when my wife is stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, on a ~6% gowngrade, creeping her way along, at one of the many four/way all/way stop signs, for her turn to go, it might save a little on the brake pads, since it's not doing much, if any, regen at those speeds anyway. I understand about the long downhills in the mountains. I'm talkig about daily rush hour(s), when a good portion of our daily travel is spent creeping downhill @ <10mph. Believe it not not, that's even on the interstates during rush hour(s). Also, as I mentioned before, we currently use 2nd and sometimes even low gear under these conditions. If we we talking about intown streets, with traffic lights, where you could go a block or two and stop, and the grades are more gradual, I could see you point. Anyway, please didn't take me the wrong. I respect and enjoy your information and opinions. I'm only speculating anyway.

 

Please wave to the Big Chicken for me.

 

Is the any recommended speed at which to use the cruise control

 

Anything above 25 MPH where the road is flat and space between cars is decent. The CC works fine but my Prius driving skills that include anticipating hills, stops, and other cars get offended when the Prius CC doesn't use the same driving skills. The CC doesn't have the sensors necessary to anticipate all those things so I don't like to use it except during the conditions listed above.

 

Are you asking in re: to cruise control or in relation to the Prius specifically. If you are asking about cruise control in general, I believe it works at any speed at or above ~25mph on the Prius. I use it at any speed 25mph or above, when traffic and/or road conditions allows for a relatively constant speed, not just highway speeds. There's alot of stretches with 40 or 45mph four lane roads and long stretches between lights. And, residential secondary roads at 35mph. All, often, with speed traps. I find it saves me tickets. The drivers here like to do 10-15mph over posted speed limits, even in residential areas. It's so much easier to lock in your speed and adjust up or down a little to go with the flow in the right hand lane, than trying to focus constantly on you speedometer. It's hilly here and easy for the speed to creep up going down hill. Our CC on the Avalon will keep it under the "no local ticketing within 10mph of the speed limit", policy. I always try do not exceed the 25mph in residential areas. So the bottom line is, whenever I can, unless it's somewhere that the driving is fun, like the mountain roads in north Georgia. I also can vouch, at least with the Avalon, that I get better gas mileage using the CC. It has a much finer touch than I can seem to manage with the accelerator, as long as it's not too hilly.
Don't know yet about the Prius in particular but I will learn from experience. You will learn where and when you can use it and where and when it's not practical. I have a number of friends that thought it was only for expressway driving, until I suggested using it at lower speeds also. For expample, there's a 3 mile stretch of level road that is 25mph that dead-ends at a park, no stops, maybe traffic, but it too is cruising along at 25mpg. I don't know about you, but I always found it difficult to keep it at 25mph. I believe that's when I first realized that CC could be useful other then above 50mph. Anyway, it boils down to whatever you are comfortable with.

 

Great news. Always thought cruise was for hwy drivin. This will help in speed traps! Figure this computer of a car can regulate itself far better then I can in getting optimal fuel savings.

 

Learn to have a "light" foot! Use the cruise control! You'll see the mph rise! And I think I'll get a "portable jumper unit" and learn how to use it. Yah, yah, and keep it filled! cbcv in Schaumburg IL

 

Richard: Did you see my post in the quote above. If regen is not effective under ~7mph, how is it going to affect fuel economy in the above situation. I'd rather spin the ICE a little to help save the brake pads. It's downhill so most of the braking is on the front pads creeping along, under 7mph. I guess I could leave several car lengths and use the accelerate and brake hypermileage method. I'd have to turn up the radio to drown out the honking. Also, with Atlanta drivers, they'd probably try to go around me, believe me, I've had it happen.

 

Just a safety note, but very important. You should not use cruise control anytime where hydroplaning is possible, i.e. heavy rain, or in slippery conditions in any car. If the car were to hydroplane or slip, the car would be fooled into accelerating, and you could fly out of control! For some reason not many people know this.

 

This is absolutely True! Never, Never Do, Good Advice.

Thank you Mfastunot for this excellant reminder. Same is true for ice or snow. Just out of curiosity, how does CC react to hydroplaning with Stability and Traction control? We don't have either on the Avalon. Just ABS.
Thanks again

 

Good point! Since spinning ICE doesn't provide any other benefit in "B" mode than helping to slow the car in the Prius. In our Avalon, I noticed with the ScangaugeII, turning off OD or downshifting, whether a long or short downhill, the GPH & HPR gauges will go to 00.0, even with the A/C on. It's charging the battery if needed and powering the A/C compressor all throught the fan belt. Saves fuel on the Avalon. Avalon will pull ~7-9HP in OD (freewhelling) downhill. Not case for Prius. Makes sense. Just have to try and change the pre-programmed manual trans mentality, to use the correct gear and to not ride the brakes if you can avoid it. In today's manual trans world I've ridden with so many people that drive with one foot one the brake and one on the accelerator concurrenly. I still use the right foot only, even in automatic.
Thanks again!

 

Did the Ewart Brothers show the world that the it's easy to modify our Prius to use more electricity, that we can plug in the car to our electricity? If so, what's up with the car industry? I simply can't believe the media. For the first time in my life (79YO) people are using their natural brains and they are doing it for free. The media is promoting this here in the USA. A far cry from the fact that for the past 100 years the Congress kept Thomas Jefferson's THE JEFFERSON BIBLE a secret. It wasn't available until 6/2006. THE JEFFERSON BIBLE has made a big difference in my idea of how people think about people and how they read books and how they treat other people. ABC TV did the same thing with this demo by the Ewart brothers. However, it couldn't be that simple, could it?